The Portland daily press., 1887-08-18


A correspondent of the New York Times.
who has evidently met many men and wom-
en- in many places besides Mt. Desert, has
written description OF fancy dress party
at one of the gayesI hotels at Bar Harbor
No one need read it with the expectation of
learning the names of the fair dancers, or of
revelling over long-worded descriptions of
elegant costumes bedecked with rare laces
and costly jewels. Fair dancers, elegant
costumes and costly jewels, were undoubted-
ly there; but there is hardly a word about
all those things over which Jenkins would
have grown enthusiastic. There is much,
however, about the people themselves, con-
sdered without reference to their adorn-
ments, and it is all very interesting and very
different from the usual reports which we
receive by the grace of the chroniclers of
sea side gaieties. In this particular report
the assumption is made first of all that the
company described was fairly representative
of the better or best class of people in
America. II the observations which he makes
or implies further on are correct. we GER
tainly hope that this preliminary assumption
Is false. The young women, for whom the
gallant summer reporter has only the choic-
est compliments, come in for a share of crti-
cism both unusual and astounding "There
were several handsome women" he says,
zone handsome girl, and number of round
and pretty ones. The rest of the women,
the great majority in fact, had faces that
would have been pretty If they had physique
to back and brighten them. In fact the
American Society Girl was out in force"
Can 1t be true, then, that in one Of Americas
greatest watering places, where resort the
people of leisure, the people who have abun-
dant means and time to cultivate the best
bodily health and the most symmetrical pro-
portions, the majority of all the young
women there fail in large measure to be
attractive because they do not have the
physique, in other words the healthy and Wig
orous bodies, to support the beauty of their
faces and the vivacity of their manners?
This is the testimony of correspondent
who has written with evident care and intel
ligence, but with greater reverence for the
teachings of the late Dio Lewis than for the
examples Of the Jenkinses who describe the
social events Of the summer resorts. The
most noticeable things, nextto the beautiful
dresses, at that fancy dress party, he says,
were clothes that restricted the circulation
OF the blood. diminished the expansion of
the lungs and unmistakable signs that the
nerves we're ovcrtaxed by the conditions of
such form Of social life. "Placed side by
side with so many English girls" he says,
"a majority Of the young girls would have
looked like inyalids." Among very poor
people, whose occupations are confning and
whose food is often unsatisfactory, it might
be expected that many, perhaps a majority
OF the girls would ''look like invalidsn But
for young women whose summer occupation
1t is to seek health in the invigorating air Of
Maine and amidst the splendid scenery that
invites to the healthiest out of door exercise
to be thus remarkable for delicate looks
is an impeachment either of our Maine oxy-
gen or the habits Of the women themselves.
The correspondent of the Times lays it to
the habits, especially to the habit of lacingt,
and he is probably right. An eminent wom-
an specialist of New York city, whose pa
tients are chiefly from the class of people
who frequent Bar Harbor and other resorts,
not long ago said that she had not had fe-
male patient for many months who had
drawn full breath, or one which expanded
her lungs to their full capacity for year.
The observations of the lady specialist and
the Bar Harbor correspondent are not enough
testimony to prove that the American socie-
ty girl is killing herself and by her example
bringing calamity on society by tight lac
ing and excessive social designations. They
merely say that ID one fancy dress party and